Page 116 of Tell No Tales
He met Trin on the aft deck. She had a fur hat pulled down over her exposed ears, but she looked cold in a crocheted sweater over her sleeveless dress. She smiled as he approached.
"Is this your first time on a ship?" he asked.
"No. I used to fish with my dad when I was little." She frowned at the deck boards at her feet. "I sang to the fish. He was a water weaver, and he always told me I called the fish better than he could."
Vadim studied her aura the way Klaus could. He saw the same aura, and more. He knew the weaver's immediate family history. Both of Trin's parents were dead, along with two infant brothers. "I'm sorry."
Trin shook her head. "They didn't understand," she motioned to her long skirt and pointed-toe boots. "I was the one who lived. I was supposed to be happy as—"
Vadim cut her off before she could finish the destructive thought. "Are you happy now?"
She nodded. "Yes. Thank you for getting me out of Hearthstone, and away from the navy, or whatever military branch conscripted me. It was never clear."
"It's hard to say," Vadim agreed. "Coryn knows she's sending weavers to their deaths on Stony Eel Island. She also doesn't like paperwork, so my guess is you're a prisoner until you die, and if you live, maybe then you become a sailor in one of their hospitals until she sends you back."
Trin shivered and pulled her sweater tighter around her shoulders.
"Enough about the past," Vadim said, taking off his own coat and wrapping it around her. He kept his arm over her shoulders. It was blasted cold on deck. "What are your plans for the future?"
"I'll do whatever the emperor needs me to do," Trin said. "Until the war is over."
"What about after the war? Where will you go? What do you want to do?"
Trin shrugged. "You said I could live on Aquarion with the pirates or go to Glamiere."
He nodded. "It's up to you. Do you want to stay with us on Aquarion?"
"Are you trying to fucking die on me?" Klaus shouted as he ran across the deck with Vadim's heaviest winter coat in his hands. "You're going to drive me to distraction with all your shivering. Oh, hi Trin."
"Hi." She blushed and stepped back to give Klaus enough room to tug the coat's sleeves over Vadim's arms and then to button it up to his chin.
"I thought you were walking with Hugo," he muttered. "Have you asked her yet?"
"I'm getting around to it."
Klaus rolled his eyes and stepped between them to give Trin a tiny bow and kiss the back of her hand. "What my lovely partner would like to ask you is, would you like to stay with us? We may not have more than a one-room shack when we get there, or we might have a new house. It's a crap shoot, but we have a kitten," he pulled Mewskers out of his shirt, where he'd been curled up above the part tucked into his trousers.
"Aww," she said, petting Mewskers. His half-sleepy eyes sharpened to full alert, and then he sprang onto her shoulder. He curled up against the fur ruff of her hat and anyone on deck could have heard him purring.
"Yet another member of our family loves you," Klaus said with a nod. "It's settled then, yes? You're coming with us?"
She laughed and shook her head. "You are the silliest people I have ever met. I would love to stay with you on Aquarion. I doubt there will be a dull moment."
"We're nothing if not entertaining," Klaus agreed with another bow. "I'll take Hugo those books now." Klaus leaned in and kissed Vadim before dashing away to the hold.
"Is he always like that?" Trin asked.
"Like what?"
"So full of energy?" She lifted a hand to pet the kitten still on her shoulder while they walked across the main deck toward the captain's cabin.
"He's got a new lease on life," Vadim explained. "It's a welcome change."
Niall's healing had been part of it, but Klaus was happier today than Vadim had seen him in a long time. The word, "partner," hadn't been lost on Vadim, either. They'd talked about their relationship in the wee hours, when Klaus snapped awake worried that they needed to adopt Trin sooner, rather than later. They hadn't discussed giving their love a name, but the word solidified their bond even more, giving Vadim overwhelming joy. He felt like he could float up into the sky on a whim, tethered only to Klaus by their bond.
He came crashing back to reality on the foredeck. "Captain Efren."
"Vadim." Efren didn't even turn to face him, but he did bow his head to Trin. "Miss Trin."
